This is what I hate about any rail debate...
The issue is framed like this by conservatives:
Republicans: anti-subsidies, Democrats: Pro-rail subsidies
When in reality, the picture is like this:
Republicans: pro-oil-based-subsidies, Democrats: pro-transportation-subsides (rail, air, auto)
All transportation is subsidized. The gas taxes you pay go into the highway trust fund. But that only covers a little over half of highway operations. Southwest Airlines doesn't build airports. They pay taxes to use them, but that does not cover the cost of their construction. And yes, the Chicago Transit Administration is not profitable either. Local governments have to spend money to keep the trains running. But what would happen if we stopped (transit subsidies only)? The average weekday daily ridership of the Red Line is 250K boardings. Would it make sense to add 100,000 cars to the already packed Lake Shore Drive and Dan Ryan Expressway? Or would that incur billions of dollars in lost revenue due to wasted gasoline, lost time, pollution, environmental justice, etc?
The same can be said of HSR in the near future. California's population is supposed to reach 60,000,000 in 2050, up from about 39,000,000 today. With highways and airports already at capacity, how are people to make intercity trips? We could fund a HSR project (~$45B if I remember correctly), add two lanes to I-5 (~$80B), or expand/build airports to the same capacity (~$80B). Or we could do nothing and incur billions of dollars annually in lost revenue and productivity. All cases incur billions in costs. The HSR option is the cheapest and has the added benefits of being more environmentally friendly, allowing better access to isolated cities like Fresno, connectivity with a planned privately funded Las Vegas-LA HSR line, downtown development, freedom from oil dependency, and perhaps most importantly to conservatives, runs an operating profit (find me one HSR line in the world that doesn't turn an operational profit. ACELA is a piece of crap, yet it still makes an operational profit.)
I don't mind if you are opposed to federal and state subsidies to rail transportation...provided you are opposed to subsidies on all forms of transportation. Keep in mind that in this scenario, your fiscal ethics compel you to walk to work and bike to the grocery store. On a dirt path.